Small Beer a Headache for Big Brewers

By

Renée Schultes

Oct. 1, 2012 3:35 p.m. ET

Big beer companies have bet the ranch over the past decade on marketing global brands. But they increasingly face a consumer-led backlash in favor of niche craft beers and microbrewers. Some industry executives now fear the beer business could ultimately go the way of the wine industry, which has always been dominated by local producers. The big brewers have a battle on their hands.

True, global consolidation has proved a lucrative strategy for the world's four largest beer companies, Anheuser-Busch InBev, SABMiller,...